Elements of Emotion

Chapter 27: Return

"Are you sure you already have to go?" Zinnia asked sadly.

"I'm sure," Caelian said softly. "There's still something I need to take care of."

Damien had agreed to stay without complaint for a week, and it was already up. Caelian spent most of his time with his mom, and whenever he had tried to visit anyone else, he was usually nudged back towards her.

They were standing outside, in front of the house. Caelian and Zinnia stood facing each other, while Zephyr, Damien and Evelyn stood further back behind Caelian.

"I'll come back to visit, though, I promise!" Caelian said as he reached forward and hugged Zinnia tightly.

Zinnia hugged him back, holding him tightly as she lifted him up off his feet. "I hope you will," she said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I've spent so many nights dreaming of meeting you again, I hate to see you go."

"I know," Caelian said. "I'm sorry, I wish I could stay. But I promise I'll come back, I promise."

"I believe you," Zinnia said as she gently set his feet back down onto the ground. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you, too!" Caelian said. He couldn't quite feel that emotion yet, but he knew how to reply. He needed to get his Celestial elemental purified. He had to.

"I wish I could come with you," Zinnia sighed, placing a hand on her cheek as Caelian released her and took a step back. "Oh, maybe Theo could go with you?" she asked as the celestial sprite landed on her shoulder. "He might be useful, and I can sense things through him."

"If I might interject, I believe that'd be a bad idea," Damien said as they took a step forward. "If Theo is being used to extend your lifeforce, taking him away from you could cause some unwanted results."

"Oh... I see." She frowned. "I suppose not, then."

"Not to worry, we will keep him safe!" Evelyn said cheerfully.

"Yeah, we'll get him back to you," Zephyr agreed. "It's the least we could do after the kindness you've shown us."

"Oh, of course, dears." Zinnia smiled. "I trust you to take care of him, I just can't help but worry... Just whatever you do, please be careful."

"We will," Caelian said.

"Speaking of which, how are we going to get back up there?" Zephyr asked.

"We're going to have to head back to the scorched lands and ask Ifrit for more phoenixes," Damien said. "It's the only thing I can come up with."

"But how far away is the nearest volcano?" Caelian whined.

"I don't know of any volcanoes around here," Zinnia frowned.

"Ugh, the distance differences between the spirit and human realms is so annoying..." Damien grumbled. "We'll have to use a different realm to travel in so we can make it to a volcano faster."

"Which realm?" Evelyn asked.

"The Eternal Forest," Damien said. "People use it as a means of fast travel through the human realm all the time. The fairy circles form a web of connections between the spirit realm and human realm."

"Back before Gaia prevented anyone from entering, you mean?" Caelian asked. Damien nodded.

"Anyway, thank you for all of your help, Zinnia. We'll be sure to bring Caelian back to you," they said.

"Thank you, dear. And don't worry about it, I'm happy to have been able to help," she said with a smile. "Stay safe, all of you!" She called as the group began to walk away. Caelian turned and looked sadly back at her, before turning back around to face where he was going. As soon as he was done taking care of everything—purifying his elemental, and helping Gaia to rebirth—he would come back to visit.